jeannejean81

So, we forgot to rinse out our zeolite crystals and now we have a clouded tank. We used Bio Spira on Wednesday and added fish as instructed on the package. Will the cloudy zeolite water hurt the fish? What should we do?

jdhef

You shouldn't be using Zeolite with BioSpira. Zeolite will absorb the ammonia that the bacteria in the BioSpira needs to stay alive and grow so that your tank cycles. That's why when using BioSpira you add your fish right away, so that the ammonia the fish produce can feed the bacteria in the BioSpira. If not fed, the bacteria will die off and your tank will not cycle.

But it is common to have cloudy water when experiencing a bacterial bloom, which the BioSpira would cause.

I cycle with fish (didn't know about fishless at the time) and my tank got cloudy after my ammonia spiked. A couple of days later I started seeing nitrites and the ammonia dropped to zero and the tank cleared up. Then after a couple of weeks my tank suddenly got cloudy again. A couple of days later the tank cleared up and Nitrites dropped to zero. In both cases it was a bacteria bloom.

sirdarksol

I agree. I wouldn't use zeolite except in an emergency (like in an accident where bleach killed off the nitrifying bacteria), and definitely not with BioSpira.

jeannejean81

I took out the zeolite as soon as I saw the reply. Do you think having the zeolite in the filter for about 12 hours destroyed the bacteria population? Our filter has three compartments, a sponge, a bag of charcoal and a bag of zeolite. So we should really only use the zeolite in emergencies if the ammonia is getting too high. I tested the water today and everything was at zero.

jdhef

I really can't say if having the zeolite forced your bacteria to die off or not. I would keep a close eye on the water parameteres and be prepared to either dose again with BioSpira or start doing daily 50% water changes until it cycles.

Under normal circumstances you should never need a product like zeolite. In a properly cycled tank that is not overstocked, you should never see ammonia or nitrites.

jeannejean81

Hey JDHEF, Can I ask you a few random questions? I noticed you have Boseman Rainbows. How well do they do kept in smaller groups since they are schooling fish... My husband wants to get some really bad. I also had a question about something a LFS guy said. He said he only feeds his fish 2 - 3 times a week. He said you don't want them to get fat and lazy. He seemed like he knew what he was talking about and even said how he put himself through school breeding and selling fish. What do you think? How often do you feed your fish?

jdhef

I have 3 Boseman's and they seem happy in the small group. I read somewhere that they don't school as tightly as most schooling fish and even with 6 or so they wouldn't keep in a tight group all the time.

I feed all of my fish twice a day. This is what just about everywhere I researched feeding recommended. But I'm very careful not to over feed.

And speaking of Boseman's and feeding, you should see those guys eat! I've been splashed a few times when they come darting to the surface, grab food and dart back down. They are great fish and I really like them a lot.

jeannejean81

My husband found a live web of a species tank with just Rainbows. He thought that was the greatest thing. He would love to get the Bleher's Rainbow fish, but that might take a while. He's also hooked on getting some Blue Rams.

jdhef

I like Blue Rams myself, but their profile on this website claims that they need "aged" water. So I figured they were not a good choice for a new tank.